Motor vehicle radiator



May'4, 1937., v. MILLER MOTOR VEHICLE RADIATOR Filed May 22, 1935 auf.

Patented May 4, 1937 PATENT OFFICE Moron VEHICLE RADIATOR Valentin Miller, Los Angeles Calif., assigner of one-half to Otto C. Nagel, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application Mayr22, 1935, Serial No. 22,738

2 claims. (o1. 257-130) My invention relates to a motor vehicle radiator and has for its principal object, the provision of a relatively simple, practical and inexpensive radiator of cellular structure that is constructed so as to provide a relatively high degree of heat radiating surface and the parts of the structure being formed and arranged so as to provide maximum strength and rigidity so that the radiator when in use will effectively resist strains and stresses that tend to bend or distort the radiator or to cause a separation of the joints thereof. i

Further objects of my invention are, to generally 4improve upon and simplify the construction of the existing forms of'motor vehicle radiators and to provide a cellular radiator that'is capable of being readily fabricated, thus minimizing production costs.

With the foregoing and other objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully describedl and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational View of a portion of a radiator constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational View taken looking in the direction indicated bythe arrow 2 in Fig. 1.

3o Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig'. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

Fig.`5`is a perspective view of one of a series 35 cf identical plates that are utilized in the construction of the improved radiator.

Fig. 6 isa perspective View of a portion of one of the water ducts used in the construction of the radiator.

` 40 In the construction of my improved radiator,

I employ a plurality of identical walls formed of thin sheet metal which when assembled produce a plurality of horizontally disposed air ducts and interposed between these air duct forming metal 45 sheets, are vertically disposed water ducts, each formed from a pair of thin metal sheets.

The air duct forming sheets designated gen erally by A in Fig. 5 are bent into substantially zigzag shape to produce a plurality of inclined portions IS of uniform width and length and between the upper and lower edges of these inclined portions I, the metal is bent to form narrow walls I I which when the parts of the radiator are properly assembled occupy vertical positions.

55 At short distances inset from the ends `of the vertical walls II, the metal is slit vertically and the-upper ends of said vertical slits are connected by a horizontally disposed slit that extends along the line of bend between the upper portion of the narrow vertical wall and the lower portion of the 5 adjacent inclined wall I0 and the material between these slits is bent at right angles to the wall II so as to provide a horizontally disposed ange I2 that extends lengthwise of the air duct between the inclined portions I0 and functions as l0 a cooling iin, inasmuch as the air which flows through the air ducts of the radiator passes di-r rectly over the surfaces of said fin or flange.

The air ducts between the inclined portions It) and which are substantially triangular in l5 cross section, are designated by the numeral I3.

i Interposed between the metal sheets that are bent to form the air ducts and cooling ns just described, are vertically disposed cooling fluid ducts, each duct being formed of a pair of ver- 20 tically disposed walls I4, the intermediate portions of which are spaced apart and the vertical edges of these walls are brought together and united by solder or the like and said united edges are bent into substantially zigzag shape, thus 25 forming short inclined portions I5 with short vertical portions ISa between said inclined portions.

When the parts of the radiator are assembled, one of the water ducts is interposed between a pair of the zigzag walls forming the air ducts with the outer faces of the short vertical portions Ia that unite the inclined portions I5 of the zigzag edges of said water duct resting directly upon and permanently secured to the flat end portions of the walls il beyond the ends of the opening formed in providing the fins or flanges I2.

The portions Ita on the zigzag edges of the water duct may be secured to the ends of the walls I I by solder or by the galvanizing metal into which the radiator is dipped or immersed after the parts have been properly assembled. n

The water flow space between the intermediate portions of the plates III may be divided into Y two or more ducts by pressing the metal in the walls I4 inwardly on vertical lines to form ribs IIS, the apices o-f which ribs make direct contact with each other and are united by vthe metal used in the galvanizing bath to which each pair of plates is subjected before they are positioned between the zigzag sheets A.

On the narrower sizes of radiators, for instance, those having a thickness of from two tol two and one-half inches, I prefer to form one rib on each plate I5, thereby dividing the space between the plates i4 into two vertically disposed water flow ducts I'I.

On the intermediate sizes of radiators or those having a thickness from three to three and onehalf inches two ribs are formed on each plate, thereby providing three water flow ducts as illustrated in Fig. 3 and on the larger sizes of radiators or those having a thickness from four to four and one-half inches, the plates are provided with three ribs each, thereby forming four water How ducts.

The formation of the ribs I 6 in the plates I4 materially increase the rigidity of the plates forming the water flow ducts and as said ribs are disposed at right angles to the inclined portions I of the members that form the air flow ducts, a very strong and rigid structure is produced that is highly effective in resisting service strains and stresses that tend to distort or bend the radiator or to break the joints thereof.

After the walls A that provide the air iiow ducts, and the walls I4 that form the water flow ducts are properly assembled with the portions I6a of the zigzag edges of plates I4 resting on the ends of walls ll, the entire structure is dipped in galvanizing metal or the like, which is a conventional practice in the production of motor vehicle radiators and the metal in such bath rigidly unites the contacting parts of the Walls and seals all joints.

When the radiator is in service, the water or other cooling fluid utilized with the cooling system of an internal combustion engine flows downward through the duct I'I and air flows horizontally through the ducts I3.

Thus a relatively large volume of air flows continually over the surfaces of the walls I4 forming the water ow ducts and such action is highly effective in rapidly disseminating the heat from the water or cooling uid.

Inasmuch as the air that passes through the ductsI3 ows lengthwise over the ribs or flanges I2, the latter function to materially assist in the dissemination of heat from the cooling iluid.

The cutting of the zigzag plates A to forml the heat radiating ribs or flanges provides slots or openings that extend practically the entire length of the zigzag sheets, and therefore these openings expose substantial portions of the adjacent wall I4 of the side of the water ow ducts and as a result, the air contact with those portions of the walls I4k exposed through the slots formed by the cutting of the sheets A in the formation of the heat radiating ribs or flanges I 2 is highly effective in the dissemination of the heat of the Water as it ows through the ducts i7.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a motor vehicle radiator that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved motor vehicle radiator may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a motor vehicle radiator, a cellular structure comprising a series of thin metal walls bent into substantially zigzag shape to provide a plurality of inclined walls that define horizontally disposed air flow ducts, there being short flat faces formed on the apices of the zigzag bent portions at the ends of said plates, a pair of spaced parallel flat plates arranged between each pair of zigzag walls, the vertical edges of which last mentioned pairs of plates are bent alternately in opposite directions to form zigzag portions, the apex of each zigzag portion having a short flat surface that engages the corresponding short flat surface on the end of the adjacent zigzag wall, the contacting flat surfaces of both sets of plates being permanently secured to each other, the intermediate portions of which second mentioned pair of plates are spaced apart by continuous vertically disposed ribs formed on said second mentioned plates, the apices of the ribs on each pair of plates being in contact with one another throughout the height of the plates to form a plurality of separate Water flow ducts, portions of the rst mentioned walls between the short fiat portions at the ends thereof being cut and bent away from the adjacent metal to form longitudinally disposed ns that project into the air passages between said walls each fin being integrally connected to the wall from which it is out throughout its length and the opening formed by the cutting and the bending of each fin constituting a continuous slot equal to the length of the fin, and which slot exposes a substantial portion of the under-lying one of the walls that form the water ow ducts.

2. In a motor vehicle radiator, a cellular structure comprising a series of thin metal walls bent into substantially zigzag shape to provide a plurality of inclined walls that define horizontally disposed air low ducts, there being short flat faces formed on the apices of the zigzag bent portions at the ends of said plates, a pair of plates arranged between each pair of zigzag walls, the vertical edges of which last mentioned pairs of plates are bent alternately in opposite directions to form zigzag portions, the apex of each zigzag portion having a short flat surface that engages the corresponding short lat surface on the end of the adjacent zigzag wall, the contacting flat surfaces of both sets of plates being permanently secured to each other, the intermediate portions of which second mentioned pairs of plates are spaced apart, vertically disposed ribs formed on said second mentioned plates to divide the space between said plates into a plurality of water flow ducts, portions of the first mentioned walls between the short nat portions at the ends thereof being cut and bent away from the adjacent metal to form longitudinally disposed ns that project into the air passages between said walls, the cutting. of the first-mentioned walls to form said ns being effected so that each n is integrally connected tothe wall throughout the length of the fin andthe opening formed by the cutting of material to form the iin constituting a slot that extends the entire length of the fin and exposes the under-lying portion of the adjacent wall of the water flow duct.

VALENTIN MILLER. 

